Peter Etebo was a contender for player of the season from central midfield for Stoke City in his first year in English football.

But the 23-year-old Nigeria international still believes his best position is further up the pitch as a number 10 or second striker.

That’s where he caught the eye in youth football and his days at Feirense, in Portugual, and he suggests it wasn’t until an emergency at Las Palmas that he was shifted into the role now familiar to Stoke fans.

“My best position is number 10 because when I was growing up, I started playing as a number 10, as a second striker,” he said in an interview for Nigerian football website bestbuddies, from Nigeria’s base at the Africa Cup of Nations.

“I can recall vividly that it was when I went to Las Palmas, we had two number sixes (defensive midfielders) and they were injured.

“It was like two months and some weeks to the end of the season and they couldn’t play until the end of the season… so, I was the only option. The gaffer said, ‘OK, Etebo you need to play the number six position because we don’t have anyone’.

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“So, I played almost like six games or so till the end of the season in that position.

“And then, when I went to Stoke it was the same – although sometimes we did play under the gaffer (Gary Rowett) we played 4-3-3, sometimes with two holding midfielders and one in front or sometimes one with two in front, depending on the opponents and what strategy they are going to employ.”

That’s where he was used by Nathan Jones too and again by Nigeria through AFCON qualifying and at the tournament itself, where they now prepare to take on Cameroon in the last 16 knock-out round on Saturday.

But still, he is insistent it’s not his best position… even if he’s happy to do a job wherever he’s needed.

“Naturally I’m a number 10 and a second striker, that’s my position,” he said.

“But one thing I believe is that if the coach is going to say to me that you need to play as a holding midfielder, or play from right midfield or left midfield, the most important is that we should always stay as a team because we are going to achieve one goal, which is to win.”

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